E-Waste Lifestyle 

(PBS) 

By Cade Tyrell 
December 6th, 2018 
COMM 2500 
 
 
 
 I have been researching e-waste and its impacts, with the goal of educating others on
impacts of the technology market trends and safe disposal of e-waste. Throughout this paper, I
will discuss the proper recycling of e-waste, the impact e-waste has on the environment, and
ways consumers can chip in to make old electronics usable or repurposed. The last decade has
seen a tremendous growth in the manufacturing and consumption of electronic and electrical
equipments all over the world. The desire for more smartphones and automated technology in
our lives has increased consumption and stimulated the market. Can you remember what
you’ve done with old technology? What happens to all the outdated TV’s, smartphones,
appliances, and computers we once used? You might not know - they could still be in your
home, at a recycling center, or thrown away with regular trash. In America, we are replacing our
electronics faster than ever to have the next best thing. As a consequence of this growth,
combined with rapid product replacement cycles, planned obsolescence and lower costs,
discarded electronic and electrical equipment more well known as ‘e-waste’ is now one of the
world’s most rapidly growing waste problems.

It’s important to clarify a few terms about e-waste, as there are some misconceptions
about what e-waste is and why it’s growing so rapidly in today’s society. According to
CalRecycle, E-Waste is loosely applied to consumer and business electronic equipment that is
near or at the end of what is deemed its “useful life.” Some examples are products such as
computers, mobile phones, digital music recorders/players, refrigerators, washing machines,
televisions (TVs), electronic toys, electric toothbrushes, toasters, and many other household
consumer items. Anything that plugs into the wall or uses batteries can be classified as e-waste
at the end of its lifecycle. The useful life of an electronic is defined as when the benefits of
purchasing new technology outweigh the older, slower, possibly non-functioning, more
expensive and bulky previous versions. Manufacturers are also able to control the market by
making certain products more expensive or using “planned obsolescence”, when a product is
engineered to fail or not function well after a set period. For example, prices of printers are so
low that once their initial ink supply is spent, the consumer is tempted to buy a whole new
machine due to the high expense of ink, which makes the company more money but creates
more e-waste. Another example is software updates on smartphones. In order to tempt you into
upgrading to the latest and greatest model, software updates slow down older phones and
make battery life poor. It is possible to create updates that are less CPU intensive for older
devices, but that would make consumers hold onto their devices longer, lowering potential
profits. In 2012, the average U.S. household spent $1,312 on consumer electronics (CE)

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products a year, according to a study, by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). The
market is designed and centered on consumers always having the newest technology,
companies making more profit, and increased demand allowing for cheaper and lower quality
(non-repairable) devices to flood the market. These factors are causing e-waste accumulation to
skyrocket.

Impact 1: E-Waste Recycling

Recycling has become commonplace in the way we dispose of garbage in the US. One
limitation is that its infrastructure cannot support an influx of e-waste through the same
collection. Consumers and businesses are left to figure out their own solutions to dispose of
e-waste. In fact, 20-50 million tons of e-waste are generated yearly, worldwide (Elsevier Science
Inc). According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, almost 2.4 million tons of
electronics were disposed of in 2009, an increase of more than 120 percent from 1999 (Shultz).
Of this amount, 29% was recycled (2012 EPA findings). Electronics that are not recycled go to
the landfill or are incinerated (~70%). Once in a landfill, toxic materials seep out into the
environment and start contaminating land, water, and the air (UN University par. 3). Much of the
e-waste that was “recycled” in the past has been sent to developing/poor countries. Although it
is legal to export discarded goods to poor countries if they can be reused or refurbished, much
is being sent to Africa or Asia under false pretences. Companies that recycle e-waste will send
large quantities of e-waste to these areas as a “donation” of “used goods” when the electronics
are actually non-functional (The Guardian). The primary reason for this is to avoid the costs of
legitimate recycling domestically.

Many developing countries that receive e-waste from wealthy countries lack the
technology, facilities, and resources needed to properly recycle and dispose of e-waste (WHO).
We send waste to lesser developed countries because the labor is cheaper and there are fewer
strict government regulations and environmental protections for processing electronics in these
areas. This often leads to “informal” recycling, taken up by poor individuals and family
businesses without any protection or education regarding the effect of toxic fumes released
when disassembling, crushing, or burning electronics. Informal workers oftentimes must melt
plastics to separate them from metals and “wash” cables in acid baths, dissolving the plastics
and revealing precious metals. These practices release toxic fumes.

The most well-known case informal e-waste recycling is in the city of Guiyu, China. Men,

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women, and children in small shops and homes across the open countryside dismantle e-waste
from the developed world, with the goal of reducing it to its smallest components. The recyclers
here are most often impoverished migrant laborers and their children, so they take the risk of
working with the e-waste because they make more money this way (although it is very small,
only a few US dollars per day). Guiyu’s soil, water, air and people are paying a high price for
their informal techniques. ​Professor Huo Xia of the Shantou University Medical College tested
165 Guiyu children for concentrations of lead in their blood. Eighty two percent of the kids had
blood/lead levels of over 100, which is considered unsafe by international health experts. The
average reading for the group was 149. High levels of lead in young children can impact IQ and
the development of the central nervous system. The highest concentrations of lead were found
in the children of parents whose workshop dealt with circuit boards. Processors of circuit boards
usually have to melt it down in order to recover metals, which releases toxins into the air.

The air in Guiyu used to be so bad that it would cause discomfort to breathe, with a
strong stench of burning plastic, rubber and paint. Research regarding the health effects are
limited, with the World Health Organization as the main contributor. Studies have shown
changes in lung function, thyroid function, hormone expression, birth weight, birth outcomes,
childhood growth rates, mental health, cognitive development, cytotoxicity, and genotoxicity. It is
also possible that exposure to hazardous chemicals produced by e-waste recycling may have
carcinogenic effects and endocrine disrupting properties that could lead to lifelong changes due
to neurodevelopment anomalies, abnormal reproductive development, intellectual impairment,
and attention difficulties (WHO). In 2018, China is making an effort to clean up the pollution in
Guiyu. All the E-waste recycling has been moved to an industrial park where it is isolated. China
also began banning imports of specific types of waste, implementing regulations on recyclers as
well as controlling industrial locations. Guiyu no longer processes e-waste from the US, only
electronics from mainland China as part of the new regulation. This has seen to be a major
improvement in public & environmental health though not as profitable for workers as before
(Reuters). The air is not half as bad as it was 5 years ago and the rivers are no longer jet-black.
China’s new regulation has pushed the US, Australia, Japan, and EU to develop new recycling
systems or throw all e-waste into landfills.

Proper recycling is essential to the success of reusing materials. Sometimes, when

e-waste is shipped to other lesser developed countries, health of the workers and environment
is not considered. ​Safe disposal is important because many electronics contain metals and
compounds that are harmful when exposed to humans and the environment. If we continue

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producing electronics, there must be a way for them to be disposed of that is safe for the future.
Electronic devices are very complex and often have hundreds of parts. A mobile phone, for
example, contains about 500 to 1,000 components (GreenPeace). Many personal electronics
contain toxic heavy metals such as lead, mercury, nickel, chromium, cadmium and beryllium, as
well as hazardous chemicals, such as brominated flame retardants. Polluting PVC plastic is also
frequently used (GreenPeace). “​Of particular concern is the exposure of children and pregnant
women to lead and mercury. These metals are highly toxic and can harm children and
developing fetuses even at low levels of exposure” (GreenPeace Toxic Tech Report). ​Many of
the metals, plastic, and glass used in electronics can be recovered through safe recycling.
Metals are especially important because they can be recycled over and over. Composition of
plastics are changed when formed which limits the amount of reusability it has after one more
use.

Impact 2: Electronics Manufacturing/Urban Mining

The massive growth in the number of electronics produced has increased the need for
resources, such as precious metals, which are necessary for electronics to work. Continued
increasing demand has put a stress on the environment for mining extraction. The rise in
electronics consumption significantly increases the amount of new materials required as time
goes on due to consumer trends and inadequate recycling. For example, There are dozens of of
metals (copper, gold, platinum, silver and tungsten, rare earths), minerals and compounds
(plastics/ceramics) inside every phone. To make a smartphone, manufacturers need a lot more
material than you end up with in your hand—200 times more (Elsevier Science Inc).

Electronics have a lot more to them than what we are able to see. This unseen baggage
is the resources and energy used in production of electronics as well as the sourcing of their
materials. Mining is often very wasteful and dangerous to workers - extracting 1 ounce of gold
can create 8 tons of waste. A November 2012 story in Mother Jones magazine revealed that
mining rare earth elements, used in all of our smartphones, requires extractors to separate them
from the radioactive elements thorium and uranium, with which they are always found.
Managing the radioactive waste, once it’s separated from the rare earths, is a huge problem,
often managed badly, allowing radiation harm to nearby residents or workers (Electronics
Takeback Coalition). Contaminated and abandoned waste ore that includes cyanide, toxic
metals and acid is often released into lakes, streams and the ocean. These foreign toxins kill
fish and contaminate drinking water (ETC). Miners also often see increased respiratory

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problems, which is likely a symptom of the dusty air that contains contaminants like mercury.
Mining is necessary for our electronics, but the earth is not likely to sustain this increased
extraction if we continue to consume and throw away electronics. This is where safe recycling
becomes so important. Instead of mining virgin materials, we can dismantle and reuse metals
from e-waste.

When recycling is done correctly, it is good for the environment. There are safe and
effective ways to recycle e-waste using automation and controlled disassembly lines. “Urban
Mining” is a term that refers to recycling electronics in controlled environments for their valuable
metals and materials. For example, a gold mine can generate 5-6g of metal per ton of raw
material, whereas a 1 ton of discarded electronics can yield 350g of metal if recycled (BBC).
Also, the amount of resources we have is unknown, but we know that they are finite. Once we
run out of a metal needed for specific electronics, there won’t be any more. Research from Yale
University suggests that out of the 62 total metals/metalloids in phones, none of them have a
replacement that is “just as good”, and 12 don’t have any alternatives that exist, which could put
a serious halt to technology progress in the future. This is why urban mining is important.
Smartphones and personal electronics use rare earth metals for specific functions, like
rechargeable batteries. Rare earth metals are not necessarily “rare” but they are spread across
the world in small quantities, with extraction being tricky, energy-intensive, and time consuming
(TechRadar). This does not mean that we have an abundance, though. Materials mined for use
in electronics will never be fully recovered if a safe recycling process is not implemented with
rules and regulations for the disposal of e-waste. I included the graphic below by Chuck Vollmer
to help visualize the concept of urban mining and how it can be applied. Urban mining is the
future of metal extraction for
electronics. If you remember
from above, 20-50 million tons
of e-waste are produced ​yearly.​
There is so much potential left in
these electronics, even though
they don’t function anymore.
Instead of causing potential
environmental harm by throwing
everything away, we are able to
conserve resources, produce

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more material per ton of waste, which is a more cost-effective model when compared to mining
operations.

It is important to mention the differences between “urban mining” and “informal”

recycling. Urban mining is done in controlled environments, where automation and worker
protections are in place to prevent toxic contaminants from being released. Urban mining is
much safer in all aspects but is not available to those poor nations who used to handle much of
the e-waste from the United States. Informal recycling still happens today, mainly in areas that
do not have the technology or facilities to run a legitimate, safe, and regulated urban mining
recycling operation. It is now estimated that we only export 10-40 percent of our e-waste for
dismantling (UN Report). Urban mining techniques like automation has helped turn negative
impacts of e-waste into positives, recovering more usable materials at no harm to humans.

Conclusion

E-waste is an issue that will continue to plague our society for many decades to come.
The boom in personal electronics has led to an increasing abundance of electronics that are at
the end of their “usable life”. Until recently, most of the e-waste in the US was sent to countries
like China. The restriction of sending e-waste to lesser developed areas for recycling has
promoted other solutions, such as better sourcing and processing through urban mining.
Consumers often are unaware of the risks that e-waste bring into the environment when
disposed of in a landfill or in unsafe recycling. The number one motto for consumers to follow
are the three R’s: Reduce (don’t buy unnecessary products) Reuse (don’t throw away
something because it’s broken, repair it first or find another use for it) and Recycle (electronics
are harmful to the environment: land, water, and soil is impacted by e-waste in landfills - 3
resources humans depend on for survival).

E-waste’s profound impact on the environment must not be ignored as we continue

buying new technology and work towards solutions for e-waste. Urban mining is very successful
in recovering precious material from e-waste, but consumers seem to need a incentive to
recycle their old electronics separately. I stress the need for federal legislation regarding
e-waste. Currently, individual states are left to choose if they even want to recycle e-waste at all.
Considering the detrimental effects e-waste has had on the countries we send it to, it is
imperative to bring visibility towards this issue in hopes that consumers see the benefits of
recycling before it’s too late. Negative impacts such as the depletion of a precious metal or

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e-waste toxins present in the environment from improper disposal will be first to show up in
developed areas. Careful planning and reduction of consumption can help alleviate stress on
resources & reduce humans’ impact on the ground we walk on, providing lasting benefits for
future generations.

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